(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to paintball guns (“markers”) and, more particularly, to a paintball marker with a more efficient and modular electronic firing mechanism.
(2) Description of Prior Art
Paintball guns (“markers”) propel paintballs by releasing a burst of CO2 or compressed air. A typical firing cycle of a paintball marker begins by a user manually cocking a bolt in the breech of the marker rearwardly in order to open a hole in the breech, through which a paintball falls into the firing chamber. Once the paintball is in the breech, the bolt is slid forward to close the breech. When the trigger is pulled a valve opens and releases compressed gas through the bolt into the breech which forces the paintball out of the marker's barrel.
Current paintball markers comprise a reservoir of compressed gas connected to a regulator that feeds regulated gas to some form of valve, and a trigger mechanism for actuating the valve to discharge the gas, ejecting paintballs from the chamber through a barrel between 280 and 300 feet per second. The barrel has a closed breech end leading to an open muzzle. A magazine of paintballs is typically mounted above the breech of the paintball marker, and the paintballs are fed into the firing position. Such paintball markers typically utilize a reciprocating bolt that moves between a loading position that permits a paintball to drop into the breech, and a firing position in which the bolt moves toward the muzzle of the marker, covering the magazine outlet. Once in the firing position the bolt re-directs a charge of compressed gas that propels the paintball out the muzzle.
Many conventional markers incorporate an electronic trigger (“eTrigger”) that actuates the above-described pneumatic firing mechanism. eTriggers comprise of a manual trigger that actuates a programmable processor-based controller board. These controller boards can be programmed by insertion of pre-programmed EPROM chips to achieve semi-automatic modes, burst modes (firing one, two, three or more times with a single pull of the trigger), or fully automatic (continuous firing) modes. The various modes are determined by a software program on the EPROM, and the EPROM can be swapped out for addition of new or different modes. The particular mode is set by the user.
Existing electronic paintball marker designs tend to use an exhaust valve, either a mechanical valve and spring mechanism (poppet valve) or a spool valve, to control the airflow to the breech. With a poppet valve, a pneumatic ram is held in a first position until sufficient pressure has built up, whereby the pneumatic ram strikes the poppet valve, thereby releasing the pressurized gas stream and driving the paintball from the marker. Reciprocation of the pneumatic ram contributes to recoil, an undesirable side effect. With a spool valve, a gas chamber holds the bolt in the loading position. When this gas chamber is vented, the bolt slides forward moving the paintball into the firing position. As the bolt moves forward, an air reservoir (volume chamber) is vented by the spool valve, which opens to vent the volume chamber gas through the bolt to drive the paintball from the marker. For these conventional paintball guns, the opening of the exhaust valve (whether a poppet or a spool) is mechanically tied to the movement of the bolt or ram. This means that the bolt/ram needs to move at a sufficient speed to open the exhaust valve properly. Unfortunately, higher bolt speed correlates to a larger force on the paintball as it is moved into the firing position, contributing to breakage and paint in the breech or barrel, which is very undesirable.
The present inventors have found that it is possible to increase the reliability and smoothness of operation by use of electro pneumatic solenoid valves connected directly to the electronic trigger, and by sequentially activating the solenoid valves according to a programmed firing sequence. In their inactivated state the solenoid valves admit low pressure gas to push the bolt assembly from its forward position backward to an open position to load a paintball into the breech.
Next, at the pull of the trigger, an electronic signal actuates a low pressure LP solenoid valve which pushes compressed gas behind the bolt assembly forcing it to move forward and close the breech. A second electronic signal actuates a high pressure (HP) solenoid valve which in turn actuates an exhaust valve. This exhaust valve vents high pressure compressed gas through the bolt assembly into the chamber. The paintball is fired.
Next, HP and LP solenoid valves are deactivated. This delivers compressed gas to the front of the bolt assembly, returning it to its starting open position.
The dual solenoid valve design eliminates the need for a ram striking the valve assembly and thus reduces recoil and improves the overall operation of the paintball marker. Moreover, using two solenoid valves completely separates the bolt actuation from the opening of the exhaust valve. As a result, the firing cycle can be completed with a lower bolt speed. This reduces unwanted paintball breakage. Also, the marker can be tuned electronically, by altering timing completely via the PCB, rather than by tuning physical components.
The dual-solenoid valve configuration also simplifies the design and allows far fewer moving parts, as well as less interaction between mechanical parts. The corresponding decrease in moving mass also contributes to recoil reduction. Moreover, the marker is a more stable and reliable firing platform, and is smaller, lighter, and more modular in construction.
The net result is a high-efficiency tournament grade paintball marker that makes more efficient use of compressed gas, thereby allowing firing of more rounds per charge, and which is nevertheless simple in construction and easier to manufacture.